Bank of Nassau, originally chartered in 1888, was the first commercial bank to issue currency in the Bahamas, then a British colony, was founded to stabilize the Bahamian economy by addressing a fragmented monetary system reliant on British pounds, Spanish dollars, and U.S. coins. Its notes, launched in 1890 in £1, £5, and £10 denominations, featured elegant designs of Queen Victoria and Bahamian motifs, backed by sterling reserves. Pegged to the U.S. dollar at 1:1, these notes stabilized trade during the 1890s silver crisis, cementing the bank’s role in formalizing the Bahamian pound.

Gonet Bank & Trust Limited (“Gonet Bank”), originally established in 1982, was a Bahamian bank operating under the Swiss based bank Gonet & Cie SA, established 1845. Operating for over 180 years globally and 40 years in the Bahamas, licensed by the Central Bank of the Bahamas, Gonet Bank offered bespoke wealth management and fiduciary services to ultra-high-net-worth clients and family offices, growing to $2 billion in assets under management by 2015. Navigating the 1980s Latin debt crisis, 2008 global downturn, and continual reshaping of the global tax landscape, Gonet Bank continued to innovate, within its Swiss Group, for its discreet, innovative approach, including sustainable investment portfolios, earning the WealthBriefing Swiss Awards “Best Investment Management Platform” in 2022.